In recent years, development relating to angiography apparatuses that capture images of blood vessels is being actively pursued. In the case of capturing images of, for example, the coronary arteries using an angiography apparatus, the angiography apparatus extracts a coronary artery region that is a vascular region. The coronary arteries are then extracted from the coronary artery region, and fluoroscopy or imaging using a contrast medium is performed with respect to the coronary arteries.
The coronary arteries are arteries that supply oxygen and nutrients to the cardiac muscle, and that branch from the coronary artery sinus of the ascending aorta. The coronary artery sinus has three dilations which are in the region of origin of the ascending aorta, namely, the right coronary artery sinus, the left coronary artery sinus and the non-coronary artery sinus, and includes the aortic valve that is constituted by three valve cusps, namely, the right coronary cusp, the left coronary cusp and the non-coronary cusp. The right coronary artery branches via the right coronary cusp from the right coronary artery sinus. The left coronary artery branches via the left coronary cusp from the left coronary artery sinus.
Although, from an anatomical viewpoint, the structure of the heart is the same structure in terms of a physical structure in humans, in practice the form thereof differs depending on the individual patient (object). Therefore, examination and medical treatment that is adapted to the respective forms of individual patients is important.
On the other hand, as an angiography apparatus that performs coronary artery intervention, that is, PCI (percutaneous coronary intervention), an X-ray diagnostic apparatus is available that performs rotational imaging using a C-arm.
In the case of using an X-ray diagnostic apparatus to capture images of the coronary arteries, as described above, although the structure of the coronary arteries or the structure of the heart are the same structures for each person from an anatomical viewpoint, the actual shapes thereof differ for each individual patient.
Therefore, when performing fluoroscopy or imaging using an X-ray diagnostic apparatus, in the case of using a trajectory for imaging that is previously set as an initial setting or standard setting, it is necessary to adjust the trajectory of the C-arm to suit the individual patient. That is, when performing imaging of the coronary arteries of a patient, even if the standard trajectory of the C-arm that is set in advance as a standard setting is provided, it is necessary to perform adjustment to adapt to the shape of the coronary arteries of the patient as well as to the manner in which the observation site is to be viewed. Thus, it is necessary to carry out imaging to perform such adjustment, and consequently the patient is exposed to X-rays also at the time of adjusting the trajectory, in addition to the X-ray exposure at the time of treatment. Further, it is necessary to check the captured images one frame at a time when adjusting the trajectory, and it requires time and labor to set the optimal trajectory.
In addition, not only does it require time and labor to set the optimal trajectory, cases can also arise in which the trajectory that is set is not necessarily the optimal trajectory.